Novato council rivals discuss police, flooding, economy

By
Stephanie Weldy, Marin Independent Journal

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Downtown revitalization, environmental protection and the creation of high-paying jobs in city boundaries are some issues fueling three candidates vying for two seats on the Novato City Council in the November election.

Incumbents Denise Athas and Pat Eklund, both 65, are joined in the race by political newcomer and nearly lifetime Marin resident Kevin Morrison, 56, a self-employed communications strategist. Chuck Finnie withdrew his name from the race last month.

Morrison said he threw his hat in the ring to bring more positivity to the city he grew up in.

“The council has been stuck and divided,” he said. “It’s missing opportunities to make Novato better.”

Morrison expressed disappointment that the downtown Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit station was not an easy “slam dunk” decision for the council.

Morrison said he also disapproved of the uproar made by some council members over Measure C, a 20-year, quarter-cent sales tax increase for general city services, which replaced Measure F, a five-year, half-cent sales tax increase.

“The Measure F sales tax, it was a half percent,” he said. “It was reduced to a quarter cent in spite of overwhelming support by Novato citizens. Why was that?”

Athas said she is running for a third council term because her first term was plagued by the recession and difficult cutbacks. With the city now in a growth mode, she said she wants to help build and improve Novato.

“We’re finally in a position to get some things done — build housing for seniors and hopefully workforce housing so people can have houses to move into with their families,” said the 23-year Novato resident. “We’re finally in a position to increase pay to employees by at least 95 percent parity of other cities. I want to continue because now I feel we’re in a position of growth — we have some opportunities.”

Athas said in her time on the council, she is most proud of ideas and programs she has brought back from League of California Cities conferences, including a discount prescription card for uninsured people.

She said she is also proud of pushing to bring the Downtown Streets Team to Novato. The city provided $50,000 this year for its contract with the Palo Alto-based nonprofit that puts the homeless to work cleaning public streets for gift cards and employment help. The county matched that amount with an additional $50,000.

Eklund, a 43-year Novato resident, said she is running for her sixth council term because she wants to maintain the city’s small-town character and help create an even better place to live.

“I’m running for re-election because I want to protect the best parts about living in Novato,” she said. “I want to make them even better. I’ve always, always been in love with our wonderful quality of life and our strong sense of community and our small-town character.”

Eklund said that in the 22 years she has been on the council, she is most proud of helping convert Hamilton from a military base to a residential community. She was appointed to a committee dedicated to working with the developer tasked with creating Hamilton in 1991. She later approved the community’s master plan as a council member.

“Since then I’ve fought bigger battles to preserve our quality of life,” she said. “I love this city we call Novato. I’m prepared to keep fighting to preserve our quality of life when it means taking on politics as usual.”

Downtown economy

All candidates expressed a desire to bring more vitality to the downtown corridor. Eklund said that if reelected, she will push for expansion of downtown onto Redwood Boulevard. She said much has been done to infuse new life into the area, but an expansion could bring more connectivity.

“We’ve done a lot but I think we need to grow it,” the Ignacio resident said. “I think we need to grow our downtown north along Redwood Boulevard so we can expand our downtown and make it walkable and bikeable, and to encourage more people to shop and patronize our restaurants and do more entertainment once the theater is done.”

Morrison, who lives in the downtown area, said he is concerned about the corridor. He said he wants to work toward attracting more restaurants and other businesses to the area that could provide entertainment options. He said more support is also necessary to reopen the Novato Theater, which closed in 1991 after 45 years of operation. He said the theater will “revitalize downtown Novato in a big way.”

Morrison is also interested in making the corridor a wireless hotspot. He said he wants to lead efforts to bring free wi-fi to downtown through a public-private partnership.

Athas, a west Novato resident, said a new vision is needed for the nearby North Redwood Boulevard corridor where business is not thriving.

Flood control

Both Athas and Morrison support Measure E, the controversial 18-year flood control tax that Novato residents will vote on in November. The tax would generate $1.1 million per year for the Marin County Flood Control Zone 1, a 45-square-mile area that includes Novato, Bel Marin Keys, Black Point, Green Point, Bahia, Ignacio, Pacheco Valle and Indian Valley. Twenty percent of the funding would go to Novato’s city staff for priority flood mitigation projects.

Two-thirds of voter support is needed for residents in the flood control zone to be assessed $47 a year per single-family home beginning July 1, 2018. Various assessments would be charged based on land use and parcel size. A senior exemption would be available to residents 65 and older with an annual household income of no more than $73,750.

Athas said that during last winter’s storms, she received calls and emails from residents inconvenienced by flooding. She said she understands residents frustrated by an abundance of special assessments on property tax bills, but flooding issues need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

“We have to make sure we take care of ourselves,” Athas said. “We need to provide the opportunity to get ourselves out of trouble. This affords that opportunity. But it’s up to the public.”

Morrison said providing funds for flood control is a good idea.

“At a dollar a week, it’s very good for flood insurance,” he said.

He added that he understands people upset over new taxes, but Measure E is a “necessary step to ensure safety,” he said.

Eklund said she has not yet taken a position on the measure as she continues researching it, but she supports more funds for flood control.

“I am glad to see that the Marin County flood control district is looking at trying to upgrade some of the levees and wetlands and help to facilitate the movement of the water from the creeks,” she said.

She said she is uncertain who came up with the 20 percent allotment to the city. She wishes the council would have been invited to partake in discussions on that allotment, she said.

Police issues

When asked about the Novato Police Department officer who resigned last month after allegedly losing or mishandling key evidence and statements, Eklund said a conversation needs to be held among city staff about transparency and a recent series of staff scandals and embarrassments at the police department.

Christopher Gamboa resigned Aug. 9 after about two months on administrative leave. His lawyer said he departed to care for a family member with a medical crisis.

The episode comes on the heels of other incidents involving the police department, including an officer’s embezzlement of funds from the police union. Another was prosecuted for sending lewd images to a minor and a top supervisor was sued for alleged gender discrimination against one officer and alleged anti-gay discrimination against another.

“We really need to do things differently,” Eklund said. “And that’s hopefully something we’ll be having conversations about. A police department, to have these kinds of incidents so close together, indicates there is an issue. I am very close to our police department, and I know there are a lot of hardworking men and women in that department. They’re taking it personally. It’s a reflection on them because they wear the same uniform these other officers are wearing.”

Eklund said she was disappointed she did not learn about the incident until Thursday. She said she plans on chatting with city management to learn why they were not more transparent.

Morrison said the officer’s behavior, if determined to be true, was wrong.

“It needs to be condemned in strong terms,” he said.

He said there is no excuse for the officer’s behavior, as all public servants should respect their responsibilities. But police officers must also be shown equal respect, he said. Morrison said it is problematic that police department staff are not paid competitive salaries.

“The issue of police pay has been a big deal for the police department, the police union,” he said.

Athas said she believed the police department handled the incident appropriately.

“I believe these are isolated incidences, and that our department, we have a wonderful police department that’s well-managed and doing the best for our community,” she said.